"The Handbook of Rhetoric and Public Address is a state-of-the-art companion to the field that showcases both the historical traditions and the future possibilities for public address scholarship in the twenty-first century. It focuses on public address as both a subject matter and a critical perspe ... ctive; mindful of the connections between the study of public address and the history of ideas; provides an historical overview of public address research and pedagogy, as well as a reassessment of contemporary public address scholarship by those most engaged in its practice; includes in-depth discussions of basic issues and controversies public address scholarship; explores the relationship between the study of public address and contemporary issues of civic engagement and democratic citizenship; reflects the diversity of views among public address scholars, advancing on-going discussions and debates over the goals and character of rhetorical scholarship." (Publisher description) more